AK state fair + lumber jack show

[bogydave]

From top of the ferris wheel

Lumber jack show:
they had 2 Stihl saws set up with a black, long tuned exhaust on the chain saws for speed cutting, They were LOUD!
RPMs was amazing:

 

[ScotO]

with a view like that from atop a Ferris wheel, what can one honestly say other than WOW! Thanks for sharing the pics Dave.

 

[nate379]

How is the cost this year?

I went last year for the first time to watch the tough truck since a friend was racing. After spending something around $25 to park and get in I wasn't too happy. Then on top of that they wanted another $10 to be able to see the race!

I could easily see a family of 4 dropping $3-400 between entrance fee and some food and a few rides.

I've been to lots of fairs all over the US and normally parking is free and it's under $10 to get in, which includes most of the shows and events. Yet people flock to this event like pigs to slop.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Wow, it is getting costly to go to the fair! We were at the Alaska State Fair only one time but that was in 1978. I still remember that wheelbarrow filled with cabbage; exactly one cabbage! We had a good time.

 

[bogydave]

$5 parking
$10 for Adult (online, the wife got a "6-pack" for $60 )
$6 for kids.
$31 for us. (2 Adults & granddaughter.)

Food, not sure how much we spent, but we ate good.
$40 for 40 ride tickets, each ride averaged 3 to 4 tickets. 10 - 11 rides.

$71 + food

A few free shows, Farm critters, lots of garden & crafts stuff to look at. Bunch of old tractors. Tons of booths & displays, from OWBs, wood stoves, to RVs & ATVs, heavy equipment,
Fish & game to forestry hunting booths/displays, wood working, a great human body (actual human taxidermy) display... etc. etc....

We were there 9 hours & had fun. Always run into friends you haven't seen for years.

Talked with the NOAA guy for a long time about king salmon & their role in protecting our oceans.
Wood stove guy how my BK is over rated, he was selling another brand (non catalytic & more efficient than my BK )

We ate good:
"All health food of course" , funnel cakes, cotton candy, pork chops on a stick, corn fritters, pizza, roasted corn on the cob, deep fired fresh grown peanut potatoes smoked bacon dip
& we maybe had some junk food.

Annual thing for us, end of summer,
& the weather was great, NO Rain

Was a great fun day for us.

 

[ScotO]

Other than pretty much getting ***** on the money end, sounds like you had a great time. I loved the backdrop with those mountains! We quit going to the local county fairs here. The companies that ran the rides were some shady lookin' dudes, and with three kids, each ticket around a dollar and the rides were around four tickets per kid, we wouldn't have been able to eat or buy gas for the ride home!!

 

[nate379]

I just get pretty bitter about the fair having to deal with the stupid noise, people and traffic daily for 2+ weeks.

The general "hub hub" of the fair isn't too bad, I can just barely hear that outside, but they have several concerts a day and for some reason then have to be cranked at 14,000 decibels.

As the bird flys I'm about 1/2 mile from the main fairgrounds and right now the walls of my house are vibrating from the bass of whatever is playing. It's loud enough I have to turn my TV up.

I can only imagine how it is for the folks that are "next door" to the fair!
This goes on till 10-11PM on some nights.

I went to get supper last night around 9PM, took me over an hour to get there and back home, a drive of about 8 miles round trip.

As far as I'm concerned the least they could do is comp the fees for me to get in if I wanted to.

 

[bogydave]

I just get pretty bitter about the fair having to deal with the stupid noise, people and traffic daily for 2+ weeks.

The general "hub hub" of the fair isn't too bad, I can just barely hear that outside, but they have several concerts a day and for some reason then have to be cranked at 14,000 decibels.

As the bird flys I'm about 1/2 mile from the main fairgrounds and right now the walls of my house are vibrating from the bass of whatever is playing. It's loud enough I have to turn my TV up.

I can only imagine how it is for the folks that are "next door" to the fair!
This goes on till 10-11PM on some nights.

I went to get supper last night around 9PM, took me over an hour to get there and back home, a drive of about 8 miles round trip.

As far as I'm concerned the least they could do is comp the fees for me to get in if I wanted to.

Some benefits for where you live though:
You could always become a volunteer. Free tickets to the fair. LOL
You can save the $5 parking fee, ride a bike or walk, free parking

If I lived there, I'd feel the same about the music & traffic. The base reverberates a long ways & you can feel it.
Traffic sucks, even the Palmer Wasilla gets backed up on weekends. Better than it used to be though. Would back up to Eklutna before the 4 lane.
Can't you come out on the Palmer Wasilla & have less traffic, Fellton St ?

 

[backpack09]

Wow do the fair grounds look different when the fair is in town, drove out that way a couple times back with the scouts when I was a youngin.

 

[certified106]

Man that looks like an awesome good time! It's always fun to watch race saws

 

[nate379]

I really hope when the Glenn expansion gets done that they work something out to handle the traffic situation for the fair.

You can only imagine all those cars in that photo mostly going to Anchorage on a 2 lane road. Of course I happen to live right between the 2 main entrance/exits to the fair so it's next to impossible for me to go anywhere, more so around 10-11ish when the fair lets out.

Last year I was working an 11PM-7AM shift and I'd have to leave my house around 9:30 to get to work in time. My normal ~45 min drive was taking 1.5 hours.

I'm sure that some folks reading this think I'm a debbie downer, sour puss, etc, but my feelings about it are about the same as my neighbors as well.

The big issue we have with it is the money the fair makes does very little for the people that live nearby. It is a huge money maker so Palmer annexed the fair into their city limits. All of the property surrounding is not in the city limits, rather part of the MatSu Bourough (makes lots of sense huh?!)

We pay a different set of taxes, have different laws (borough vs city), even the fire dept and police are different.